Some 65% of hospitality workers still go into work despite being sick

A new survey of 286 hospitality workers has revealed that staff are more likely to go into work than stay home when genuinely ill.

The survey by hospitality recruitment agency, the Change Group, found that only around one in 20 hospitality employees (6%) had claimed to be ill and taken a day off when they were actually fit to go to work. Almost two in five hospitality workers (37%) had not taken a single day off sick in the previous year, while another 40% had only taken off one or two days as a result of illness.

The majority of people questioned (65%) said they had gone into work while they were ill or unwell and suffering a range of conditions from a cold (68%) to fever (42%), back pain (32%) and migraines (32%).

When asked why they went into work whilst ill, around one in 10 (less than 9%) said that taking time off was “frowned upon by their employer”, or that that they did so to “avoid being sacked”.

Meanwhile 16% said that they “battled” into work to ensure they were paid. In relation to the current hospitality crisis, just over one in four (28%) said there was no one to cover their role if they were away.

However, the majority cited positive reasons for working despite feeling ill, including responses such as: “supporting my fellow workers” (52%), “because I love my job” (29%), and “because I’d rather work than be at home if I’m well enough” (40%).

The research indicates wide variance in sick pay policies among hospitality employers. Even though the majority of those surveyed (72%) had been with their current employer for more than one year, a third of employees questioned said they can take unpaid days off work if they are sick but are not eligible for any sick pay.

Of those who are entitled to sick pay, a third are entitled to time off with full pay while almost a third (29%) are only paid statutory sick pay.

Craig Allen, founder and director of the Change Group said: “Despite the sometimes long and anti-social hours, hospitality is a fun sector to work in and encourages strong teamwork, and these are perhaps the key reasons why employees show up when they are unwell.

“We would definitely recommend that employers should think carefully about their sick pay policies, especially for long tenure workers, as this can be seen as an important benefit.

“In fact, we are now seeing more and more employers offering full pay when employees take days off sick, as well as providing health insurance for key workers. Even though the research shows most hospitality employees don’t take much time off sick, these benefits can make a huge difference in terms of attracting the best talent.”